We drove through the day and arrived at the Ranger station close to midnight and parked in the parking lot. In front of the office were two men who were camped out in sleeping bags and what I thought was a pile of their stuff. "Hmm... they must be backpacking through the state," I thought naively. The office opened at 8AM so I set our alarm for 7AM just in case and we got some shut eye. The night was fitful, Spike kept stirring and waking me up. By the time 7AM rolled around I was NOT in the mood to get up but decided to peek out and see if the guys were still there. THERE WAS A LONG LINE AT THE OFFICE! I jerked Whitney awake and we fled out to the line. There were at least 7 households ahead of us already and only a limited number of spots available! I was stressed we weren't going to get a campsite and we almost didn't. We snagged one of the LAST sites available and if we didn't have such a small trailer, we would not have fit in the spot. Luckily, it all worked out and we sought out a local McDonalds and took advantage of the free wi-fi while waiting for the people to clear out of our spot.
After we set up and got settled, I crashed for a nap. I never sleep well when we're boondocking on the road and sleeping in parking lots and for one reason or another, the past couple of nights had been fitful. So I took a needed nap and then we made dinner and went to sleep, determined to explore the next day.
The weather was beautiful, in the high 70's and we struck out to a little Canoe and Tube Float shop we had passed the day before. We checked out the tube rentals and then decided to buy our own so that we could float as much as we wanted. So we drove the Exped down to Lake Michigan, the end of the river and biked 3 miles back to the campsite, picked up our tubes, and walked to the launch point. By this point it was late and by the time we got in the water, the wind had picked up and it was a little cold. But the float was very beautiful and as it was my very first float, I was quite pleased. So we float, float, and float. Then the river meets a lake. A lake I have since dubbed EVIL LAKE.
Evil Lake was beautiful enough and the water was very shallow so we began walking toward where the river began again. Well the shallowness didn't last and we decided to get back in our tubes and paddle the rest of the way. I had bought a little plastic paddle at the shop and it didn't look that far to the next part of the river so we took turns paddling. Well, as we started getting out into the middle of the lake, the wind had whipped up a little more and while it wasn't too bad, paddling with one small cheap paddle wasn't making very quick progress. We paddled for over an hour and started to get tired. We were looking pretty close and I thought maybe if I hopped in the water and swam while Whitney paddled, we could make better time. I am a strong swimmer and felt pretty confident that I could just hop back in when I got tired. Yeah. Genius.
So I hopped out of the tube which promptly CAPSIZED and dumped all of our provisions into the lake. The bungee cord we had used to tie the tubes together came undone and I reached out to grab my tube and missed, hitting it and launching it away. I started to swim after it but the wind had caught it and I quickly became aware I would not be able to catch up to it. I also felt my muscles were very sluggish because we had been paddling for so long already. I turned back and saw Whitney and her tube were much further away than I thought. I couldn't help but think of side cramps and my fear of drowning kicked in. We were in the middle of a lake with one tube and no one in sight. The shore was not too far but I was so tired I frantically splashed back to Whitney and the tube. Here, I almost lost it. I almost drowned a couple years ago on a camping trip and I had sudden flashbacks to that feeling of drowning. Thank god the water was very warm. I clung to the tube and started to feel on the verge of an anxiety attack which made it hard to hang on to the tube. I began to feel certain we were going to drown. Whitney urged me to get up into the tube while she hung on. I was barely able to pull myself up but once I did, I used the paddle and directed us to the shore. I should also mention that Whitney has a HUGE fear of water plants. Like huge. As we drew near the shore, we saw there were a LOT of plants and Whitney began to scream and almost began to cry. At that point I saw the water wasn't deep so i hopped out and let her go to the tube while I slogged towards shore. Well.... the shore was not really a shore, it was a DEEP muddy mire. On the side of the lake we found ourselves on the trees and brush were overgrown all around and there was no place to really get out. I sunk hip deep into the mire and the sucking action almost made it impossible to struggle free. So as Whitney is squealing on the tube, I am struggling with evil lake quicksand. So I start to scream. On the opposite side of the lake there was a boat ramp and a house and while there were a couple people standing there, my previous shouts had not roused their attention. Fortunately, just as I'm about to burst into tears, I see someone get into a boat and start out into the lake. So Whitney and I start screaming for help, waving our stupid plastic paddle in the air. He eventually sees us and I point toward my tube, which has had a luxurious float to another part of the lake. The gentleman retrieves my float and the comes up to us and I ask if he'll tow us to the river. He obliges and I almost cry with relief. A water tow has never felt so wonderful and safe. In his motorboat, even though he was going slow, it took us 10 minutes to get there and I couldn't help thinking "we would have NEVER made it with our paddling efforts."
By the time we got to the river, he informed us he has had to do that on many occasions for people who get stuck in the lake with their tubes. He pointed us to the next boat landing and told us we could walk to the main road. Relieved and freezing (the sun was below the trees by that point) we floated and paddled down the continuing river. Along the way we came very close to several fishing herons and i felt a weird sense of relief and peace. Considering we had come so close to drowning (or so it felt) I was surprised at my sense of contentment then. Now I realize it was probably the mad rush of endorphins associated with rescue. So we got out at the next landing and had to hike back to the main road and then walk all the way back to our campsite. Whitney had to bike back the 3 miles to the Exped and bring it back. We collapsed into bed, didn't even eat dinner, and passed out, exhausted but thankful.
Today will be better. Now we know the layout of the river and where the next landing is where we can get out and park our Exped without going to the lake. And we'll get an earlier start. Adventures aside, we are sore and aching from our paddling efforts but I feel a weird sense of accomplishment at braving danger and surviving yet again. But, as my aunt sternly warned me, 3rd time can be the charm and as my greatest fear is drowning, I think next time I come toe to toe with a lake, I'll be bringing a life jacket or getting out, braving a long stroll through the woods instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment